Operating mechanism for gang-plows



0.'w. JOHNSON. OPERATING MECHANISM FOR GANG PLOWS. APPLICATION FILED 0CT 12.l915. RENEWED AUG. 8. I919.

Patented M21129, 1920.

5 SHEETS-SHEET I.

mumto a aka/ah O. W. JOHNSON. OPERATING MECHANISM FOR GANG FLOWS.

mm a m mm o W. y W Y m z w 4d 4 a w m m H 3 @W a;

00: W WM I W WW an: 1 .0,\ a 0 ll .2 6 a, 4 w M 4 w 0. w.' JOHNSON. 0PERAT|NG.MECHAN|SM FOR GANG PLOWS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 12, l9l5- RENEWED AUG-$1919., 1,333,207.

Patented Mar. 9, 1920.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4- Elude/vulva O. W. JOHNSON. OPERATING MECHANISM FOR GANG PLOWS. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 12. 1915. RENEWED AUG. 8. I919.

cfo/zn'sorz H Patented Mar. 9, 1920.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5- e eseemees fieal wes eemeeews- 1 ump; qme g heme 1e15,.s 1e1g 55 492, Ren wed-Angi 5919; -rserieim. 31 ,204. Q

To all whom itmay Qencem;

seeksto provide maizhinery whereby? gangoi'plows may :beliiziwn inverse field 111 the qfa tractolflshomiingt gge'ted th the plows may same inanpe'r as new mals and so arranged drawn by draf al ithat a plpi'ality 9f furnowsiwill be formed .on each tnp' acriossa field without the formation of any dead fur:

Crows. r 'lhe invention. seeks .to :prQvicle means whereby a gang .ofiplcivsmay be readily tached'to a tractor in such a manner that the draft will he applied to @the'pMWS in 10 w plane so that the plows will bedzcawi; through'the ground at a depth which will produce the desired furrow." The' inyentmn also seeks to rpvide means whereby somelo'af the plows may beheldin sit-ion during atripof the'trlactor acrosscthe fieldandthen' readily ldwered to operate 10h the returrrtrip. The invention also seeksto provide novel and leificient means Wheifeby be'easily raised and lowered as occasien may demand, and also preyides safety devices whereby a plow will be -,a1it.0; niatically released from the 101111 ,of the tree.- tor upo n striking an'irninovahle vobject and permittec1'-.t0 turn dver so as to clear 13116.01 struction' without hreakagecr ether dam: age. The inventien also seeks to improve the general construction and arrangement cf the partsof the mechanism efcr operating plows in agangs to the end thatthe .jcbst (if v 40 production be redu'celdiahd 'thef efl i; ciency increased. a These statedlob ects and such ether mcl-L dental' obj in mechanis 130f the. character .il'lfistrated in the accompanying drawings and the inven:

ti'onresides 1n certa-ih nevel. -.features which will he particularly pointed cut i the 1 3 claimsrfoll owing the descripticn.

p Figlirefl -is a side, el elvat- Q1; eta pcrtien an inoperative pb:

' .4 adapte :to fi agains $1.19 side [.ii dSzZ'Oi shafts her natter ects as .vqilil appear as'thei deseripw tion 'Ofthe inventlonfproceeds are attalned 45 serves a a Eig-i enl rg d pla new set pleez h mying hraeketsrmithih mm 1- me ed; a I

Fig: 4. is enlarged 1 eleaatien shewihg' end iei aiplcwabeam how-mgthe sam at tach d vte e pl irzcarryi g brac et a d h s? iunseaeng runne e sage-i; r Fages isa pla -m yv-e thesemehnd Fi -9 is a et l ehtien ak non the line 9599f Fig, 7

brack t ie sthnd rd wh h is lseslfred to. he co ner of th tr qter frame hdpr yides 1 hea ings for th sha ts 1pQn'Wh C gh.SY-

eaial wierking me hhen are meu edt ect -i1h e r.e ed in a h nv h tienal-men er and may he f sue? able cw str ctiqnhh wi pre ra y 9i alertlow Wh ch 's d cies cl in a 4 pen ing ap l cation fil d by m 1Q, 191 Serial No-H,8 .5-- 1. carrying hilt hre entinyenticm, vemp oy a pair l trackets our standard 2 whiehare made rights i @delthil phl pfictite ieh ef and lef e be" se ured t the .cornersihf'thh gtraetpr" heme at QPPQSite sides ea -th ame- 301 .eft sseebtacket or :1.

stahdardjs is sheyvn indete l in F ghf em whichit e il-1' berel d y see that he hm set is a single int gral ca tinghavi-ng Wings I-l end,dnesp ctivelyyefthe .t ste the lupper and lewier ends Q ith se .gs am s1'ee es -1whi h receive the end 91" the piyht fi ly de scribed, and en the inner fa of th s de wing his a shelf, rib or fl ng 1.6 ve eh' is adapted'torres hpoh the upper side pf thjfe I tracter afritlme and .theri by'eid ihningin thebracketsj cor gs e ndelids in o. M912 $.16-

sitien hppn the" f ame- This t5 $0 brace to creinifer ethe struc and a si'hiula .re-ih' hm hfl Web? ..s'1-nre e. belew ethfi'zl'ib erainge 5 and-ad pte t1 bearagainst th under sid ih he tnmtoll @Istnda sate presided V able openingsx8 through which" bolts may :be

inserted into the tractor frame toseeure the brackets in position and the brackets may be secured to the tractor frame before the engage between theribs 6 and the webs 7, after which"=fa stening bolts are.

111- serted and secured. The sleeves may 1 be complete in one member, as illustrated in the drawings, or may be constructed in simi lar mating members, accordingly as it may be deemed more desirable to assemble the entire mechanism-before connecting it with the tractor or the reverse. Mounted in the upper and lower sleeves 5 and-extending across the full width of the tractorare upper and lower shafts 9 and 10. The lower shaft may be fixed rigidly in the brackets or standards and upon the said shaft, 'I loosely mount the plow-carrying arms or brackets 11. Upon reference to Fig. 2, it'will-be noted that these plow-carrying arms are graduated in lengthso that the plowsjcarried by the respective arms to form parallel furrows will be caused to' work onebehind another and thereby avoid one plow throw ing the dirt turned up by-it over in advance of an adjacentplow and choking the operation of the same. The brackets may' be arranged as shown in Fig. 2 so that the longest plow-carrying arms or brackets will be at the transverse center of the apparatus or theymay be arranged in the reverse manner so. that the longest arms will be at the sidesof the machine. In either arrangement, the plows will-preferably be disposed inrights and lefts so that, if one series ofplows be worked when the tractor is traveling across the field in one direction and 7 fit upon'the shaft 10, as

the other series of-plows worked when the tractor is traveling in the opposite direction, the entire field will be plowed without any dead furrows being formed and without any idle trips being made. It will be understood, however. that the two gangs maybe operated simultaneously. Intheir essential particulars, the plow-Jcarryi 11g arms or brackets are all alike and a .descriptionof one will, to a large extent, sutfi e for all; It will be noted, upon reference to Figs. 2 and 3 more particularly,that the plow-car'- rying arms or brackets are triangular in their general form and are mounted upon the shaft 10 at their bases-or widerends. Each arm or. bracket is provided with a pair of ears '12 at its base which are spaced apart, as clearly shown',"and are adapted to shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. By spacing these bearing-earsor eyes at some" distance apart, a more'extendf ed' support for the bracket or arm: is pro1- vided upon 'thefshafi'so that the device will.

beam under normal conditions.

' be substitutedtherefor.

be more effectually enabled to resist torsional strain. "Attheape xor point-of con- 7 vergence of the sides of theshortest bracket,

I provide'anoverhanging shelf-like mem- 1 her 13'which is provided on its under side at its free edge with a lip 14 adapted to engage the hoisting ,chain'or'cable 16 is attached.

From the shelf-like Inember'13, at. the side of the bracket, 'dep'end'sa tongue 17 which forms a base or supporting plate to which the plow beam, indicated at 18, is pivotally attached; It will be noted, upon reference to F i'g; 8, that the plow-carrying armor bracket is a right triangle and that the base is projected somewhat beyond theside and the tongue 1 7 is offsetsomewhat bevond the said side so asto provide a recess to accommodate the clevis'19 which is secured to the front end of: the plowrbeann A perforated lug 20 is provided upon the base. of the bracket in'spaced relation tothe' side thereof and the extremity of the clevis 19 fits into the space between theside of the bracket and the said lug,'asclear1y shown in Fig. 8. A

fragilepin 21 'is insertedthrough thesaid lug and clevis'into, an opening provided therefor in the depending web 22 .of the.

bracket so as to sustain the end of the plow beam 'pivotally: mounted upon the tongue 17 by means of a swinging clamp, plate 23 The plow which is provided on one. side with a cylindrical boss or stud24c fitting in an opening provided. therefor in "the tongue 17 and held against withdrawal bya cotter pin or simi lar device 25. The plate 23 carries bolts 26 whichpass above and below the plow beam 7 and are fitted with nuts 27, whereby they mav beclamped to' the said plow beam. It

will be readily understood that a clamping plate or washer is to be fitted upon'the .bolts betweenthe nuts and the side'of the=plow beam "and I prefer to'obtain'thefunctions of such washer or clamping platebyimeans of a shank 28 which is placed againstthe side of the "plow beam and is constructed with a longitudinal slot29 to-receive the bolts 26, as

shown in Figs. 7, 8 and 9. Thelower por-. tion of this shank is turned rearwardly in the illustration and is expanded laterally so astoform a runner 3O adaptedlto :restupon the ground in advance of the plow'share and thereby regulate the depth to which. the

share maywork into the ground: The par ticular construction of the runner is not essential and a wheel or." other device may .The clevis 19 will, of coursebe provided with a vertical'series or pluralitvof openings whereby the angle at 'whichithe plowjfnay run may be adjusted.

The fragile pin is, preferably,

Imam

wooden pin. As; long: asthe plow is work ing normally, it will; bejhauiled through-- the earth by the brackets but, when the plow point strikes an immovable. obstruction), the

forward traveli'cf theshare will be arrested whereuponthe pull} of the: tractor will cause theplow-to swing about the ivot 24 and I carry the] clevis downward; The clevis will thereuponshea r oft the fragile pin; 21 and tion. f The rocking movementmayi continue until the plow extends; forwardly over and the fragile pin as the pivotal mounting of permit the share to; rock, over the; obstrucrests upon the bra'ket as-thev clevis. may drop to the ground. and: act as a fulcrumi for further swinging ofv the plow. After the-oh stru'ction has been passed, the operator-resets the plow and applies a new pin 21 so that thework may proceed. :It will be read ily understood that each plow: isindependent of all the others-in. thisrespect, and, that an obstruction which does not catch and tend to holdtheplow oint will not affect it nor the plow-carrying bracket will permit the plow and the bracket. to' ride over the obstruction. 7

= By referring to Figs. 2 and 8, it will be noted that the pivotalpo-int of each plow at the rear extremity or apex of the bracket to which the plow is attached. .The lug 20 will, of course, be at the same d'istancefron'i the rearend of each bracket and willftherefore be at a distance from the supporting shaftilO which varies accordingto the length 3.

of the bracket. The longest brackets will be provided with cross bars 31 and thehooklike lips 14: will be formed ontheunder sides of these cross. bars. Fixed upon the upper shaft 9, directlyover the respective pl0W-' carrying arms or brackets, are rearwardly projecting lifting or hoisting arms 32 to which the upper ends of lifting chains 16 are attached. A quadrant 33,-is also-fixed upon the upper shaft '9andthis quadrant be utilizedto raise the gang of plows.

has a cable 34 attachedlthereto and running thereover and. thence extending to: a. point lower sidev Ofi the same so that" a positive of. the'said quadrant. I provide an opening 38toreceive aclexvisfiO in which-isyengaged,

rocking movement will be transmitted toithe shaft 9. and the. lifting arms. caused. to. move upwardly. At the; upper front corner tor frame by a; clevis 62; It will be readily understood that, when a will is exerted upon the cable 34, thesh'aft 9-wil-l be rocked forwardly and, consequently, the; lifting arms 32. will be caused to swing upwardly and, acting upon the chains 16,; will lift the plowcarrying brackets and: the plows attached thereto. As shown, the stop chain (il extendsdownwardly and forwardly from the upper corner of. the: quadrant to the tractor frame; and-,whentaut, prevents: downward. and rearward movement of the; quadrant I and, consequently,.o'f the shaft to which it is secured and the parts carriedbysaid shaft. By engaging different links of thechain in one ofthe clevises the parts: may be permitted to swi-ng dbwnwardl y and rearward ly to dillfer'ent degrees which is sometimes desirab e.

In order to hold the plows in an elevated and consequentlv inoperative position. I

providea plurality, of locking or holdingarms 39 which are formed integral each with a sleeve l0 which is loosely fitted upon, the shaft 9. The holding orrlockinq arm is extended radially from one end of the sleeve 40 and will normally extend somewhat downwardly therefrom,- as shown in'Figs; 4 and. 5. At the oppositeend of the sleet e40, I

provide a depending stop arm 4H havingan arcuate lower end42 wh ch is adapted to clear the rear beam of the tractor frame, indicated ate 43, and isaco'nstructed with proj ections orlstopsl l adapted to abut the opposite sides of the said beam, as will be read- .ily understood upon reference to Fig 5,;and

thereby limit the movement .of the holding; arm and, consequently, prevent the arm moving to a position in which it will not properly perform its: functions. The free end of the. holding arm. 39' is turned downwardly as shown at 45, and is then carried inwardly or forwardly, as shown at 46,300

provideia hook or beak like terminal foi' the arm. whlch is; adapted, to engage under the hp 14L: on the plow carrying bracket and thereby hold thesaid bracket and the plow connected therewith; in an elevated position. 4

plow-carrying bracket in order that this en'- gagement may be clearlyunderstood, and in Fig. 4 some of thebrackets are shown in an elevatedposition and supportedin said position by the holding-V arms. Near the free end of each holding arm is an eye 47 to receive the-end of arelea'sing chain or cable 48 which extends upwardly and forwardly from .In Fig 5, I} have shown aportion of the the holding arm and is carried forwardly over the tractor to any pointwhere it may be conveniently manipulated by the driver: By referrinni more particularly to f2 and. 3,, it U will be noted: that. I have illuse trateditwogangs of plows, eachig'anq' containingthreeplowsu Tharele'asinu cable-48.

Sha na termiilatingiimthree biz-snak s;

each connected to the holding arm intended to engage one of the plow-carrying brackets.

49 mag/conveniently bea ring 'or'eyepro-y vided at the upper end of an arm or stand ard rising from the sleeve 10 of the central holding arm. The sleeves of-the outer holding arms need not-"be provided with these guide arnu-i' and the weight of the 1nachine will, tothat extent, be decreased.

The cables 48 will normally'be sufliciently taut or under'the proper tension to enable the operatorto quickly release either series of plows, but, atthe same time, permit the -holding arms to firmly support the plows whi h are to be held elevated, It will be readily understood that, when the plows are raised, the members 13 and 31 will be brought against the free under curved edges 51 of the beak-like extremities of therespeotive holding arms and will ride against said edges and, consequently, swing the said arms upwardly. When the lips 14 clear the edges of the beaks-46, the hold ng arms will at once drop into the position shown in Fig. 5 so that the said beaks will extend under the ribs 14 and will supnortthe same. 'The Weight of the plows will be thrown upon these beaks and will tend toswing thehold- 1 g arms downwardly, but this downward movement will be resisted by the contact of the rear stop 44- with the rear cross beam of i the tractor and, consequently, the plows cannot drop but will be held intheir raised positions. When it is desired to lower the plows, the releasing cables 48' are pulled slightly forward and as they pass through the guide 49 above the holding arms, the

said arms will be swung upwardly about the shaft 9 and will withdraw their beaks from under the lips 14 whereupon the plows will at once drop to the ground. Should it be desired to holdonly part of a seriesof plows raised while permitting the other plows of said seriesto remain on the ground. the holding arm 39 may be manually disengaged from the bracket carrying that plow which is to be lowered. If the holding arms be raised and the cables then secured, the plows may be raised and then again at once lowered by rocking the shaft 9 and this oporation may sometimes be found desirable when it is necessary to carry theplows over a gully or'a dead furrow, or it is desired to leavea portion of the ground unplowed.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanymgdrawing's, it Wlll bB seenthatl have provided an ex- .mation of any waste spaces.

mechanical motor in exactly-the same manner in'which they are now drawn by' draft animals. I am thus enabled to use the ordinary turning'plowsvwhich are now incommon use and it is notnecessary to provide new or special plows when installing tractor with my improvements upon a farm. The plow-carrying arms or brarkets may be coupled to theplow beams in the manner described and then fitted to the shaft 10 and the brackets or standards 2 properly assembled with said shaft. The several holding and lifting arms and the supportingquad rant may be also fitted to the upper shaft and the said shaft mounted in the brackets, after which the tractormay be backed to the assembled mechanism, as will be readily to be plowed. He will then lower the right hand series of plows and drive his machine along theside of the field to the full extent of the field, thereby forming a plurality of furrows, as will be readily understood. The series of plows are then raised and the tractor turned about the rear left hand wheel as a pivot. Theseries of plows which were previously raised will now be lowered and the machine driven across-the field in the reverse direction, thereby fo ming a sec ond series of furrows whichwill be turned in the same direction as those previously formed. although they are formed by the left hand plows. In this manner the entire field may be'quickly plowed w thout the for- Other methods of advantageously employing gang's ofplows will readily suggest themselves to the rained husbandman. I

H aving thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is: I I f j 1. The combination with a frame, of members pivoted thereto in the same transverse plane thereof, "means for raising the members, and means for holding the members raised, said holding means being operable to permit. one or more of the members to, be lowered while holding the remainder raised. 2. The combination with a support, of a plurality of brackets independently pivoted to the support in the same transverse plane thereof and provided on their under sides with transverselips, the brackets being of unequal length and the said lips being at eoual distances from the plane of the pivots of the b1'ackets,-m eans for raising said brack- I 'i gees-gov ets," and a plurality of freely inountedheld Ing arms above the respective bTaClEGtS'PTW vided with-overhanging beaks at their free ends to engage 'saidlips and 'thereby hold the brackets in raised position; 1

conib nat1on with ltt sllp lalt, of a 1 l a plurality of members independently pivoted on the support in 'thesame transverse plane thereof, means on the frame connected with of radial lifting-arms fixed to said shaft, a

plurality of holdingarms mounted loosely on the rock shaft in proximity tlo therespectivef lifting arms and normally extending downwardly therefrom in looking position,

1 and, means connected with the holding arms for limiting the downward movement thereof and raising them to released position:

-' 5. The combination with a frame, of a transverse rock shaft mounted thereon, a I transverse pivot rod carried by the frame below therock shaft,'a plurality 'of devices pivotally coupled to said pivot rod and extending rearwardly therefrom, a plurality of. lifting arms secured upon the rock-shaft,

' connections between the several lifting arms and the devices respectively below-them ex-Mand convergingto and passing through the at uniform distances from the pivotal mounts, L above the respective brackets,

pending devices attached to said arms-and holding arms mounted inproximity to the respective lifting arms to engage the re: spective 'subjafcent brackets, and means for tending rearwardly from the pivot rod, a quadrant fixed to said rock shaft, an oper'ating cable attached to said quadrant, and a plurality of holding arms loosely mounted 'l upon therock shaft in proximity to the resLpeCtivelifting arms and adapted to hold thesaid devices individually in raised positions. g I I it 6.,The combination with a frame, of a plurality of brackets of unequal length pivotally mounted thereon in the same transverse" plane thereof and provided with eyes lifting arms mounted upon the frame flexible susengaging the eyes on the brackets, gravity rocking said lifting arms to raise the brackets.

7. In an apparatus for the purpose set forth, the combination of a pivotally mounted bracket having a transverse dependinglipfmeansattached to said bracket to raise the same, a gravitating holding arm piv- 7 frame, of

-. anally mounted ab ve the bracket and ro;

vided with an inwardly projecting beak at its" free; end adaptedto engage under the v transverse lip on the bracket, means-for lim t iting themovement of said holding arm, "and'means attacliedto said holding arm to raise'the same'and thereby disengage it from the bracket.

, 8..In an apparatus for. the purpose set forth, the combination of a series of brackets, means forraising said brackets, a series of holding arms freely: mounted above the brackets and each. adapted to engage the Y bracket below the same to hold itin a raised position, and a plurality of'releasing cables connected to the several holding'arms and united at a point in advance of'the same. i

9.'In an apparatus for the purpose set brackets, means for raising said brackets, a

forth, the combination-of .a plurality of i posed-abovethe brackets and adapted to en-,

gage the I brackets respectively below the h same to hold them in raised position, a guide "disposed above the central holding arm, and

releasingcables secured to the respective V arms and converging to and passing through the'said, guide. I a i s p 10. In an apparatus for the purpose set forth, the combination of a; plurality of brackets, means for raising said brackets, a

-plurality of gravitatin'g holding arms mounted above the brackets and constructed to engageflthe same and hold them in raised position, a guide arm projecting upwardly from thejpivotal point of the central holding arm, and'cables secured to the several arms said guide arm, 7

11. In an apparatus for the purpose set brackets, means for raising said brackets, a plurality of holding arms constructed to engage-said'brackets and hold them in raised position, means for releasing said holdingarms,-and' stop arms connected'with the respective holding arms and constructed with spaced. stops to limit the movement of said arms in either direction.

12. In an apparatus for the purpose set brackets, a plurality of holding arms conarms having laterally disposed pivot sleeves at the r forward ends, stop arms depending from said sleeves and provided with spaced stops; at their lower extremities, means for raising the brackets, and means andprojecting above and below the same, the said brackets being provided with bearforth, the combination of, a plurality of structed. to engage the respective brackets and hold them in raised positions, said 'hold- J mg 10s forth, the combination of a plurality of f agamst theupper and lower sides of the frame, a pivot rodlmounted in the bearings at the lower ends of said brackets, carrying.

armsmounted upon said pivot rod, a rock 'rying arms. V a L In testimony whereof I aflix my signature; shaft mounted in the bearings at the upper shaft forraising said carrying arms, and

gravttating holding arms mounted loosely 10 on the shaft and adapted to engage the car v OLIVER W. JOHNSON. a 8.] a 

